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Aha, great explanation about the expanding fluid casusing pressure - thank you! I do love a scientific explanation for things! :) Great, I will move onto the next stage - cheers, everyone.

I've been shaking the carboy for some days now and when I used the Vacuvin method just now no bubbles came up, making me think degassing was complete. But I just shook the carboy with my finger over the hole in the bung and could hear the 'pssshhh!' noise of gas escaping when I released my...

Thanks everyone! How long are we talking? I was planning on aging for 6-12 months... Great idea about the milk crates!

OK, now I'm even more confused! Have just read that you can't re-use screw-top bottles (which I've been saving) with corks as the glass is weaker at the top, argh! What is the best way to store & seal wine without spending a lot of money? Is it really that bad to re-use screw-top bottles...

Is it a really bad idea to store wine upright when it's sealed with a cork? (even with the plastic-coated corks?) I haven't got a wine rack so was planning on just standing the wine up in a dark cupboard until I read that you shouldnt!

Thanks for this. Can I ask whether the mamnufacturers are also in order of grading, or just the wines within each manufacturer? (eg. is the top RJ Spagnol considered better than the bottom Vineco?)

Thought I'd come back to update. It's finished fermenting and I've just added stabiliser and started to degas and it tastes fine, yay! I'm now fairly sure it was the CO2/carbonic acid I was tasting - the same aftertaste is there but very mildly now. It definitely tastes like soda water to me...

No, I didn't. I'm using a kit and it's only the 3rd one I've ever made so I stuck to the instructions.

I haven't added any nutrient as the sulphur smell has now almost gone so I thought I'd leave it and see what happens. As for the weird taste - it's now only an aftertaste, how odd (yes, it's a chemically taste) - I'm now wondering whether it's the CO2 in there as it has a definite fizz to it...

Thank you so much, everyone - that was super helpful!

I don't know what the yeast was, no. Sanitation-wise, I used sodium meta on everything that touched the wine. I'll shove in some yeast nutrient and see if that helps - thanks.

I'm using my hydrometer and thermometer every day and am wondering about the easiest way to sterilise them (the steriliser I'm using is Youngs Sterilising Powder, but the container doesn't say what the chemical actually is). It seems very time-consuming (not to mention expensive/wasteful)...

It definitely doesn't taste like vinegar so I'm safe on that point at least! It tastes like medicine is the only way i can think of of describe it with an aftertaste that sort of burns/makes you cough. I'm not at the siphoning stage yet but that was another thing I was wondering about...

Thanks, Paul. Can anyone confirm what wine actually tastes like during the fermentation phase? It's still supposed to taste pretty much like grape juice, yes?

Thanks, both of you. Steve, the smell isn't that strong, it's fairly mild - but it is definitely there. It's the taste that's so bad - like a really nasty medicine! The SG - a bit embarrassing but I don't understand how to read a hydrometer yet. It's over 1.000, halfway between the 20...

I don't mean bad as in 'not very nice', I mean bad as in literally gone off or something. I'm on day 5 of fermenting a Beaverdale Shiraz kit - I tasted some today and it is vile. I can't describe how it tasted but it's just really, really horrible. I know that it won't taste anything like wine...